


Ghost Stories

by Fidollwa



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Featuring link being a little shit, Ghost Stories, He’s gotta do something between shrines, absolute nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22523116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fidollwa/pseuds/Fidollwa
Summary: Waking up after 100 years left him with quite a few problems that needed solving. The most obvious of which being the absolute nightmare that used to be Hyrule castle looming in the distance. Of course there ended up being a bit of list as time went on. He also needed to free the divine beasts all the way down to saving the occasional hapless traveler.The most surprising bit though? Link himself had become kind of a ghost story.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 80





	Ghost Stories

Waking up after 100 years left him with quite a few problems that needed solving. The most obvious of which being the absolute nightmare that used to be Hyrule castle looming in the distance. Of course there ended up being a bit of list as time went on. He also needed to free the divine beasts all the way down to saving the occasional hapless traveler.

What Link didn't expect to be an issue was that after 100 years things changed. Not just the monsters and the ruins but the culture too. People seemed less willing to leave towns now. Traveling alone was just asking for trouble anyways. Just getting into Gerudo Town was a pain in the ass. Well, to be fair he feels like that was always the case but still. Link didn't have to resort to a wardrobe rehaul last time. At least not that he remembered.

The most surprising bit though? Link himself had become kind of a ghost story.

He had the change to spare tonight to actually sleep at the stable this time. It wasn't like it was necessary but he had almost fallen off a mountain trying to reach a shrine so he figured he deserved the little splurge. The hushed voices wouldn't have kept him up had he not heard his own name. Link blinked up at the top of the tent and turned his head to look. A few travelers, younger guys it looked like, were huddled around on the floor. They had a pile of cards in between them but the game seemed mostly forgotten. The tallest one was gesturing in big motions, telling a story. 

Huh, Link squinted. Odd time for a history lesson. Mentally shrugging he sat up and wandered over. As he neared, Link caught the tail end of the story in a hushed whisper.

"-and they say, the legendary hero is doomed to wander Hyrule. His quest forever incomplete!"

Most of the guys friends seemed unphased, either smiling or rolling their eyes. The youngest looking one was a bit more frazzled, fidgeting and looking over his shoulder. 

"Oh come on," one of the others said, "I've heard that one a thousand times. Gimme something new!"

"Something new?" The tallest guy scoffed. "C'mon, that's the best one!"

"Yeah, maybe when we were five."

The youngest guy seemed to be the only one who actually noticed Link was there. The poor kid nearly jumped out of his skin, blindly reaching out for his friend. They all turned to look at him then in varying stages of suspicion. Which, granted, looming over someone who was telling a ghost story probably wasn't the best look.

"Can we uh... help you?" The tall one asked, more confused than anything.

Link paused before shrugging. "Just curious."

The tall guy lit up. "About the story?"

Link ignored how his friends groaned when he nodded. From the looks of it he'd told the tale a few too many times. The tall guy set his cards down, shifting a bit to face Link better.

"Well! It's the story about the champion of Hyrule, yeah? You've probably heard about it already."

Link simply shook his head, bemused. He's heard lots of stories about himself. Some were a bit more believable than others, especially since most of the people telling them weren't even alive at the time. But him being a ghost was... new?

"Count yourself lucky," one of the other guys griped, throwing down his hand of cards. "I'm out. Gonna walk around, see if I can't relax a bit."

The tall guy waved him off. "Ah, don't listen to him! My name's Udo!"

"Uh-" he frowned for a moment. Eh, might as well tell the truth. "Link."

"No way!" He grinned. "What're the odds!"

You’d be surprised, Link thought idly. Udo directed his friends to make a space for him in their circle. As they did, with varying levels of enthusiasm, Link glanced back at his bed. The appeal of a good night's sleep wasn't enough to overrule his curiosity so he carefully sat and listened as Udo started up the story again.

"Anyway, I'll give you the gist of it," he cleared his throat, taking on a more dramatic tone, "so you know about the champion, yeah? Well his duty was to protect the princess and defeat the Calamity. Obviously this never happened."

The guy gestured vaguely in the direction Link knew the castle to be. "The champions, long gone, are said to be tied to their divine beasts. They wreak havoc on the land in their regret and fury! But what of the Hylian champion? The princess's appointed knight?"

Link was listening with interest as Udo's friends looked about ready to fall asleep. 

"The popular opinion shortly after the fact was that he was lost somewhere in the castle, his body never to be found. But! Nowadays we know better. People have seen ghostly figures around the country side, especially on that plateau."

Well, they weren't entirely wrong, Link thought. His thoughts circled back to the king. He hadn't seen the man since the plateau and there was no indication that would change anytime soon.

Udo was talking again already.

"There have been sightings further than that though, of a skilled swordsman single handedly dismantling camps of monsters! Plus with the appearance of those towers?" Udo looked at them in turn. "The ghost of the Hylian champion is clearly still among us and he's trying to do what he couldn't all those years ago!"

Before Link could process that, one of the others piped up. 

"Again, not scary."

"Whaddya mean not scary?" Udo snapped back. "What about tortured souls trapped on our plane for _eternity_ isn't scary?"

"You just said he goes around killing monsters. That's a good thing!"

This was less than he was expecting. Still interesting to see what was happening outside of his own perspective but in retrospect Link would've chosen the bed. Again, almost fell off a mountain. And would probably do it all over again tomorrow. As they argued, Link got an idea.

"I think I know what you're talking about."

Udo paused before perking up. He turned to the others saying, "Ha! Told you it was scary!"

"Not what I meant," Link interrupted, "I mean I've seen him."

Everyone, even Udo, seemed surprised. Then a little suspicious. The more timid one looked concerningly pale. 

"The Hylian champion? Really?" At Link's nod he continued, "Where? What was he doing? What'd he look like?"

As if it weren't obvious they didn't know who the Hylian champion, considering they were sitting right next to him. Link thought it over a moment and gave an overdramatic shudder.

"Big. Looked strong too. Big sword at his hip and a blue tunic."

The one true detail in there seemed to have them buying into the others. Udo and his friends shared a look as Link continued. He was pulling it all out of his ass but they seemed to be eating it up,

"He was making his way through a bokoblin camp. They didn't put up much fight. Thought I was hidden enough but he turned to look right at me." Link added in a bit more drama to it, even adding a shake to his voice. "Those weren't the eyes of the living."

The air that hung over the group was oppressive. The one looked about ready to pass out and his friends looked nauseous. Udo cleared his throat, glancing around and out towards the landscape. 

"Well I'm sure he's... fighting the good fight," Udo gave a half hearted laugh. The others didn’t seem to share the same sentiment. 

"Where... was that exactly?" One of them asked. 

Link blinked, thought it over a moment, answered, "Oh, just at that camp down the river a ways. A bit off the beaten path though."

In his own defense Link had gone through that camp a while ago. He needed to gather supplies and, if he were being honest, sending a bokoblin flying with an explosive barrel was never going to get old. The others though looked a bit concerned to say the least.

"Right!" Udo was suddenly standing, "I think I'm gonna call it a night, got a long day ahead of us right?"

A chorus of nods and mumbled agreements from the rest of them. Without another word they were all up and walking off, card game completely forgotten. Link was left sitting by himself on the floor in the middle of the tent. He couldn't help the little snicker. 

A ghost indeed, Link thought, ambling back to his bed.


End file.
